Educational Programs For All Ages

The mission of my educational program is to enrich your Chumash and Tataviam component. I help fulfill the state required curriculum on Native American studies. But, most importantly I put a real face on the history of the Chumash and Tataviam culture. I present my history, my families history, my tribes history in a way that helps students understand. To help them realize that the Chumash and Tataviam are and were a strong and vibrant culture. The students touch, feel, sing and listen to the story of the Chumash. I use traditional storytelling to teach much as my elders have for thousands of years. I look forward to sharing my wisdom and knowledge with your students.

"The Chumash and Tataviam are one of the oldest tribes in America. How did they survive, what made them unique and where did they live? These are just a few of the questions that I will answer. Let me bring a field trip to you, an experience that you and your students will remember for a lifetime. As a former preschool teacher, I know how storytelling nourishes the imagination and sparks the desire for reading."

Native American songs and storytelling

Artifacts and Cultural Displays

Video and Picture Display of a Chumash canoe (Tomol)

Chumash and Tataviam and Mission History

Art Activities and more!

email Alan at chumashstories@gmail.com to book a program

Tools Used Every Day

Chumash and Tataviam used many different tools and implements in their daily life. Many of these are unfamiliar to "modern" people, yet were clever, useful and ornamental. Alan brings a table full of fascinating and exciting tools used in Chumash and Tataviam daily life, guaranteed to delight all ages.

Story of the Canoe

The Chumash and Tataviam were a sea-faring people. The last ocean-going canoe used by the Chumash was destroyed in a storm 200 years ago. Alan and a team of Chumash painstakenly examined mission records and recreated an authentic Chumash canoe, which was launched into the ocean in Santa Barbars. That is Alan in the front seat.

Alan "Spirit Hawk" Salazar

I have worked in several different areas in my life. I have been a Native American consultant/monitor, I have been a traditional storyteller, a spiritual adviser, a traditional paddler of Chumash canoes, a preschool teacher and a juvenile institution officer. I have also, been a journeyman plaster since I was a young man and have been around construction most of my life. My family has traced our family ancestry to the Chumash village of Ta'apu, now known as Simi Valley and the Tataviam village of Pi'ing near Castaic, Ca. We are Ventureno Chumash and Tataviam. My ancestors were brought into the San Fernando Mission starting in 1803. And I still continue to actively protect my ancestors village sites and tribal territories, which include the Malibu area.